If the Twins are serious about fielding a championship team, Torii Hunter’s defection to the Los Angeles Angels should serve as a valuable if painful lesson: Get the core players locked up early.

So said one party with intimate knowledge of Minnesota’s doomed courtship of its two-time all-star outfielder.

Hunter himself.

“If I owned the team, I would definitely keep” Michael Cuddyer, Justin Morneau and Joe Nathan, Hunter said Thursday after agreeing to a five-year, $90 million contract with Los Angeles. “If I had a player walk (who) was making a significant amount of money, I would definitely try to sign my other guy. Which is Morneau.”

No need to add the 2006 American League most valuable player to Bill Smith’s to-do list. The Twins’ new general manager, who declined to comment Thursday on his post-Hunter roster strategy, is well aware that baseball salaries seem to rise by the hour.

Hunter’s $18-million-a-year price tag is just another notch on the inflationary scale, and Morneau figures to get more expensive by the day.

Hunter’s departure will free up his salary ($12 million last year) for use elsewhere, but it won’t stretch very far. Morneau, for instance, is eligible for arbitration and could get a big raise after delivering 31 home runs and 111 runs batted in for his $4.5 million salary last year.

Trouble is, Smith has plenty of other priorities, which now include finding a new center fielder. One urgent situation in particular needs to be resolved (or deferred), a decision that potentially affects the entire roster. Johan Santana’s contract expires after next season, and he figures to command a contract that dwarfs Hunter’s new deal.

The Twins’ choices: Pay it, and figure out how to fit a salary beyond $20 million into their $75-80 million payroll; trade Santana for prospects who fill other holes in the roster; or keep the two-time Cy Young winner and go through another season of uncertainty over a star player.

Hunter’s advice: Strike a deal quickly, preferably yesterday.

“He’s going through the same thing I went through last winter,” Hunter said. “If you’re going to keep Johan, you have to try to do it now, because once the se`son starts, the closer you get to the end of that tunnel and you see that light, you’re going to see what other teams have to say.”

The Twins Hunter is leaving behind are watching closely, too.

“If they’re going to get rid of two players like (Hunter and Santana), we better have some darn good players to fill their spots,” said Nathan, the veteran closer who also can elect free agency next winter. “They better get a really good package for (Santana) and get some guys ready to play now. If it goes any other way, it’s probably going to send a message to guys like Morneau and myself.”

That message: Big-money contracts still aren’t in the Twins’ budget.

Which would mean, Nathan said, “I only really have another year there.”

Nathan, who has saved at least 36 games for four consecutive seasons, will earn $6 million next season. He would like a long-term deal, and his value ratcheted up again when Yankees closer Mariano Rivera stayed in New York for $45 million over three years.

Santana’s status won’t necessarily determine whether he remains a Twin, Nathan said, but it will help him decide whether Minnesota can provide him with a chance to contend for a championship.

“If we lose a guy like that, it better be for the right reasons,” Nathan said. The Twins “have a lot of work to do and a lot of holes to fill, and not a lot of time to do it. They’ve got less than three months to get a lineup out there that can compete in this Central Division that seems to be getting better and better as the weeks go on.”

The Twins have yet to make him an offer, Nathan said Thursday.

“My agent (Dave Pepe) and Bill Smith had some conversations just to kind of open the doors again. But no numbers have been spoken about, or years. As far as contract talk, I haven’t heard anything.”

Phil Miller can be reached at pmiller@pioneerpress.com. Kelsie Smith can be reached at ksmith@pioneerpress.com.

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